Mets Fan Reflects on Childhood and Opening Week
Photo Credit: Deadbeat Baseball deadbeatbaseball.com
It’s Opening Day week. A week that entails many things I absolutely love about baseball; hot dogs, nosebleeding seats, and of course, my New York Mets. Last season was absolutely unnatural as we went to the World Series, and lost. Yes, it was a heartbreak to see my Mets lose. But holy crap, the fact we got into the World Series was a miracle. This team that I have loved for so long is finally becoming a serious team to be reckoned with (although this season it’s really going to be tough without Daniel Murphy, who went to the Nationals, that two-timing BASTARD). The renewed faith I have in my Metropolitans brings me back to a special time in my life in which I will never forget; the time I was on the warning track at Shea Stadium.
Photo Credit: Zack Hample The Baseball Collector
Way back in 2007, The New York Mets had this fan club for children under the age of 14 called New York Met’s Fan Club for Kids (it has now been renamed to Mr.Met’s Kids Club, still probably pretty dope). I was, after begging my father many times, of course, a member of this club. When I paid my membership I was given a certificate (that someone probably printed out of a Kinkos), a code name (John F. Kennedy was my code name….which…I don’t know what that should say about my life expectancy but whatever), and a ticket to go to Shea Stadium for “Fan Club for Kids Day”, which invited every member to go out on the warning track to sing the National Anthem in front of the whole audience. Needless to say, I was fuckin stoked. Yes, this was during the time in which the Mets had just undergone one of the biggest collapses in Major League Baseball history, but as little grade school kid who was invited to what he thought was the greatest place in the world (and still is), I could not care less.
07 mets
Now forgive me as this was close to ten years ago, so my memory is a bit hazy. Just before the game was about to start, the announcer came on and told all of the Club members to come near the bullpen (There was a security member or two that opened the gates up for us to enter through). Shea Stadium employees lead us into the bullpen and get ready to walk out and see the whole stadium and my Mets practicing and everything. After the introduction of the opposing team (which I think were the Reds) and of course the 2007 NY Mets, we knew it was time to go into the warning track when the announcer said, “And now performing the National Anthem, members of the New York Mets Fan Club for Kids, give it away guys!”. We sang and I couldn’t help it. I was in shock. I could not believe David Wright, Jose Valentine, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and the rest of the 2007 Mets were not too far from me. I looked up and saw our faces come up on the Jumbotron. When the camera came to me I could not help it and, as a result, around 20 to 30 thousand people saw a kid jumping up and down uncontrollably with his hat constantly hitting against his legs. It was amazin’.
I keep telling my folks about this moment whenever the New York Mets, or baseball in general, comes up in a discussion. It was a real thrill to me being on the field of Shea Stadium and seeing what these pros see on a regular basis. Baseball is all about having fun, sacking the other team (well, still remember this was ’07, so the other team was probably sacking US), eating hot dogs, throwing the occasional insult or two (Ayo TERRY COLLINS I GOT A PITCHING MACHINE IN MY BACKYARD MAYBE YOU COULD USE IT), and hanging with friends and family. Let’s hope to God I can get back to Citifield, but instead of having me on the warning track, I’d rather see my team win the Commissioner’s Trophy. Let’s go Mets!
